Ireland Registered Car Market Growth in January

Despite the fact that the Irish car market suffered a huge drop in 2009, it seems that this year things might turn around, according to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI). Official SIMI figures say there were 16,595 new cars registered in January 2010 in Ireland, 5.04% more than in January 2009.

Last year, Irish car sales plunged 62.1% to 57,460 units, compared with 2008. The all time high of 186,000 units was registered in 2007, while 2008 brought sales of 152,000 units.

"At 5% up on January last year, we are very pleased with new car sales so far this year. This is the second month in a row that we have seen an increase in registrations. Given that the first two weeks of January suffered a virtual standstill in trading due to the bad weather, the fact that the month has finished 5% ahead of last year is a very strong sign that consumers are availing of the incredible value that is available at the moment,” said SIMI Director General Alan Nolan about the January figures.

"While the snow and ice delayed registrations until well into the month, feedback from dealers around the country is indicating that the significant increase in footfall and in actual sales, in comparison to this time last year, is continuing. Dealers are also reporting that the scrappage scheme has been very well received by the public who are actively seeking out the best value in 2010 low emission cars," he added.

SIMI Press Officer Suzanne Sheridan added: "We expect the current trend to continue for the year to achieve the 70,000 plus new car sales that we predicted."